Kentucky 4-star PG target Tay Kinney now down to just eight college options

Tay Kinney has announced another cut to his top schools list.

On Thursday, On3’s Joe Tipton reported that Kinney has trimmed his options down to eight. Kentucky made the cut once again, joined by Oregon, Texas, Louisville, Kansas, Arkansas, Miami (FL), and Indiana. A 6-foot-2 point guard originally from Newport, KY, Kinney is ranked No. 15 overall in the 2026 recruiting class by the Rivals Industry Ranking.

Kinney, who will play at Overtime Elite again this fall for his senior season, first cut his list to a top 15 back in December before chopping that down to a top 12 less than a little less than a month ago. In this latest update, he removed Auburn, Purdue, Xavier, and Tennessee from contention.

NEWS: 2026 Top-15 overall recruit Tay Kinney is down to eight schools, he tells @Rivals.

The 6-2 rising senior is one of the top point guards in the country.

https://t.co/wqOlODaGZP pic.twitter.com/NZoCqUZqHN

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) August 21, 2025

Kinney has already completed official visits with Louisville and Kentucky. He has upcoming OVs locked in with Kansas (this weekend), Indiana (8/29), Oregon (9/6), Texas (9/12), Miami (9/19), and Arkansas (9/26). Louisville has been trending as the frontrunner in his recruitment, with a few others serving as dark-horse candidates. Arkansas’ John Calipari will host Kinney for his final OV in late September.

All that being said, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was front and center for several of Kinney’s games on the adidas 3SSB circuit last month. The Wildcats have remained in the mix despite Louisville’s apparent surge.

“Really good visit,” Kinney told reporters in July about his trip to Kentucky. “The team this year, the way they was practicing, the way they play, that really stood out. We hung out with Pope at their house, went out to dinner, and watched a practice. They play fast, get up and down, and shoot a lot of threes.”

Kinney has said a commitment decision could come before the 2025-26 Overtime Elite season begins this fall. Kinney adds that, despite being signed to adidas and playing for an adidas AAU program, he’s not automatically guaranteed to go to an adidas school. His current partnership with adidas ends after his final high school season wraps up.

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